To be honest up front, this follow-up was not quite as good as the first. However, Garden Spells would be hard to match, so keeping that in mind, I think this was an admirable sequel. I was not a huge fan of the con-man story line, but loved the candy business and of course the Violet/Charlie story and the Bay/Josh story. Plus, Evanelle. I think my favorite thing about these books are the Waverly gifts - what they are and how they fit into everyone's lives. I particularly love Bey and Evanelle's gifts...not as pretty, but I like the quirkiness. The magical realism aspect is well handled and just fun. I enjoyed a little bit of the insight we got into Lorelai and what her life/gift had been like. And of course, the best part: the apple tree. This was a very fun, light read that was exactly what I was looking for it to be.